Midtown Sacramento is witnessing the rebirth of an old favorite. Zelda’s Original Gourmet Pizza, a fixture of the community for decades, has announced its doors are swinging back open under fresh management, albeit with no on-site dining for the time being. The journey back from its August closure has come with tweaks that are subtle yet meaningful, aiming to breathe new life into the beloved pizzeria.
Beau Cornell, who has stepped in to lead the charge, emphasized the importance of retaining the iconic essence of Zelda’s. “We are changing things very barely, aesthetically. Pizza is the same, the guys in the kitchen have been there for 15 years and they are staying,” Cornell told
ABC10
. The pizzeria’s immediate success is palpable, with sales hitting over 100 pies on some days and inventory selling out within two hours. Longtime client Jody Pribyl vouched for its enduring charm, asserting to
ABC10
, “It’s the best Chicago-style pizza in Northern California.”
The shuttered state of Zelda’s since late summer has been a symptom of the precarious landscape that many businesses have been navigating post-pandemic. Another casualty in the fray was the downtown’s There and Back Café, which had to close down on Veterans Day. Zelda’s parting in August had sent ripples of disbelief through its patrons, as Leslie Niver lamented to
ABC10
, “For them to close suddenly, everyone was pretty much shocked.”
Yet, amid the nostalgic hues, the community has rallied beyond mere sentiment. Cornell and newcomer to the restaurant scene, Jon Stevenson, have taken up the mantle of stewardship for Zelda’s. “I like to think we added a little bit of lipstick and rouge. You know, we’ve added the lighting, we added mirrors. We just updated the old is what we’ve done to give it a fresh look,” Stevenson shared with
KCRA
. Cornell is deeply tied to the place, not only as the new owner, but also as a fervent longtime patron who couldn’t bear to see it fade.
The essence of Zelda’s, which has spanned nearly half a century, seems poised to persist. Despite a momentary lapse, its reincarnation is greeted with open arms by the community, a testament to its footprint in Sacramento’s culinary scene. Presently operating on a cash-only basis, Zelda’s Original Gourmet Pizza invites the nostalgia-hungry and the pizza aficionados alike to its location at 1415 21st Street, open Thursday through Sunday from 5-9 p.m. In-person dining, as reported by
ABC10
, is slated to begin in a few weeks, marking yet another step toward a return to full slice-swinging operations.
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